Carbon capture technology aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere from industrial plants.
These plants release “flue gases,” which contain CO2, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
By capturing CO2, industries can either use it for other purposes or store it safely.
However, many current carbon capture technologies require extra energy to release the CO2 after capturing it, which can be expensive and complex, especially for plants that don’t have extra heat available.
A team of researchers at SINTEF, a Norwegian research institute, has developed a new technology called CSAR, or Continuous Swing Adsorption Reactor, that offers a simpler and more energy-efficient solution for CO2 capture.
CSAR uses a combination of a heat pump, a vacuum pump, and electricity to make the process work smoothly.
Unlike traditional methods that rely on heat, CSAR’s pumps need only electricity, which can make it more affordable, especially when renewable electricity is available.
Here’s how the CSAR process works: the system captures CO2 in one reactor, where a special material called a “sorbent” binds the gas to its surface.
This process generates heat, which is then transferred to a second reactor. In the second reactor, this heat is used to release the CO2 at a higher temperature.
The heat pump efficiently moves heat between the reactors, while the vacuum pump helps release the CO2. This approach uses less energy and is cost-effective, making it a good choice for existing industrial facilities.
This summer, the CSAR technology was tested at the BIR AS waste combustion plant in Bergen, Norway.
BIR handles about 220,000 tons of household waste each year, which produces electricity and heat but also emits 250,000 tons of CO2. During a 100-hour test, the CSAR system successfully captured the same amount of CO2 from the plant’s exhaust gases as it did in lab tests, proving its effectiveness on a larger scale.
BIR now plans to install a carbon capture facility capable of capturing 100,000 tons of CO2 per year by 2030. They are also exploring advanced technologies like CSAR for even more efficient CO2 capture.
The next step for CSAR is a trial in a cement plant in Spain as part of the CAPTUS project, which aims to develop sustainable CO2 capture methods for industries. This success is promising for scaling up CSAR technology and making it more widely available across different industries.
